THE mum of the “selfless” teenager who died in a pit bike crash in October last year said he “died doing what he loved”.

Ellis Selby-Richings, 16, of Guest Road, Poole, prolonged the life of others by donating his organs after he died as a result of a crash at the Turlin Moor Recreation Ground in Poole on October 19, 2020.

The student died at Southampton General Hospital and the inquest into his death was held at Bournemouth Town Hall on Thursday.

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Paying tribute, his mum Karli Selby said: “He would have died doing something he loved.”

Sergeant Craig Tatton of Dorset Police’s road policing team, said they were notified by the ambulance service of an incident at Turlin Moor Recreation Ground at around 10.45pm on October 19, the incident happened at approximately 10pm.

He said: “It is now known that Ellis was a young man with a number of close friends in the area. He had been riding motorcycles from a young age, that is a family passion.”

Mr Tatton said Ellis crashed into a metal fence surrounding the field, and marks in the grass showed he applied the brakes to take avoiding action. It was also heard that the bike had no headlights.

“There was an attempt to stop which suggests he saw the rail at the last minute.

“There was further disturbance to the grass further on which suggests it carried on under the rail, it is likely Ellis made contact with the rail and the bike carried on.”

The inquest heard how he and his two friends, who can’t be named for legal reasons, had all ridden the bike and were “enjoying themselves”.

“Ellis rode off past the group again,” Mr Tatton continued. “Witnesses reported hearing a metal-on-metal type impact and the engine stop, at which point the group ran over and found Ellis on the ground.”

CPR was commenced and Ellis was transferred by air to Southampton General Hospital.

He died there on October 22 of asphyxiation, secondary to spinal trauma.

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Recording a conclusion, senior coroner for Dorset, Rachael Griffin, said the “selfless” teenager died as a result of an accident.

Ms Griffin said: “He was a popular young boy, close to his family, and had a great passion for motorcycles.

“On October 19 last year, he attended Turlin Moor Recreation Ground with his friends.

“It was approximately 10pm when he was riding the pit bike and he collided with a metal fence.

“He was taken to Southampton General Hospital and his condition deteriorated and he died on October 22, not before very selflessly donating his organs to give life to others, for that I am sure many will always be grateful.

“It is quite right he shouldn’t have been using that bike on that night, he went there in his mind to have fun.

“The bike did not have any defects, but it is significant to record it did not have lights. He did collide with the fence which caused catastrophic injuries.

“I am satisfied Ellis died as a result of an accident. I hope if any good can come of his death it can warn the others of the dangers of riding these bikes and the tragic circumstances that can occur from riding vehicles which are powerful.”